Lifestyle
Baby button stuffed red peppers with wild rice and toasted pecans
Rooibos tea, typically enjoyed as a beverage, brings a gentle, earthy sweetness that perfectly complements the tartness of cranberries.
Stuffed peppers are a classic for a reason – they’re versatile, endlessly customisable, and perfect for a meat-free Monday. But these aren’t your standard stuffed peppers. Roasted red peppers become the perfect base, soft and slightly sweet, but the real excitement is in the filling. It’s a deliciously unexpected mix that brings together the earthy warmth of rooibos tea and the tart sweetness of dried cranberries. Recipe compliments of the South-African Mushroom Farmers’ Association.
Ingredients
- 4 red bell peppers
- 1 cup hot rooibos tea
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 250 g baby button mushrooms, halved
- 2 cups cooked wild rice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- ¼ cup spring onions, sliced
- ¼ cup pecan nuts. lightly toasted
- ¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- Preheat oven to 180˚C.
- Slice the peppers in half and remove the seeds and white membrane.
- Drizzle with a little olive oil and rub both the inside and outside to coat them.
- Arrange them upside down on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.
- Place the dried cranberries and the hot rooibos tea in a small bowl and leave until the cranberries are plump and soft. Discard the rooibos.
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan.
- Cook baby buttons cut side down until golden brown and just tender.
- Remove from the heat and place in a large bowl.
- To the bowl- add the cooked wild rice and the drained cranberries. Mix.
- Fold in the lemon zest, chilli, spring onions, pecans and parsley.
- Turn the peppers cut side up and fill with the rice and mushroom mixture.
- Return to the oven to heat everything through together and finish cooking the peppers until tender. Approximately 10 minutes.
- Squeeze a little lemon juice over each stuffed pepper and serve.
